Young blacks (15-24) suicide at a higher rate than whites. If victim-precipitated homicides are considered suicides, then the young, black male suicide rate soars. 2 cases illustrate how explosive masculine rage can serve to end life while exhibiting the ghetto’s norms. The Black Panthers’ behavior bears many similarities to that of people precipitating their own murders. Life in urban ghettos is such that this kind of behavior is foreseeable & indicates that “the nation is in bad trouble.”